Elizabeth R

Synopsis

When Elizabeth Tudor comes to the throne, her (male) advisers know she has to marry. Doesn’t she? Thus starts a decades-long political/ matrimonial game, during an age of high passions and high achievement.

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A wonder of dialog-driven filmmaking that doesn't need sex, murders, epic battles--any adrenaline-fueled scenario to hold an audience. You'll only notice its Spartan simplicity in retrospect; there's nothing wanting. Costumes, editing, lighting, and cinematography are never showy. Jackson is an enchantress as the virgin queen, conveying acute emotion with a psychological realism that belies the writing's extremity.